A souvenir is often created by a memory. Mostly it reminds us of happier, simpler times. About objects or gifts we received, bought or found to cherish the memory we had of the place or moment. But that also counts for grim reminders. Memories to remind us what it took to stand here today.

Sarah, living in Israel, Jerusalem, gave me her perspective of her religious past of the Jewish Quarter in the old city of Jerusalem. She gave me insight on a particular building, the “Ahurba” synagogue (or the Rabbi Yehuda attasid’s sinagogue). A building that has been destroyed and rebuild in the span of 600 years. The Jewish community received their share of pain and happiness and will remember this for years 
to come. 
Sarah got married in this particular synagogue. She described it to me as one of her favorite moments in life, but with the temple’s history, that sadness will never be forgotten. After her ceremony, the husband breaks a glass piece under his foot to remember that the synagogue had a tragic past of being destroyed.

In sculpting, the concept of destruction and rebuilding are techniques to make images. 
Within my practice, I made these techniques my own within the well known and maleable material, clay. I see my body as a sculpting tool and intend to use every extend of it to create sculptures. 

For the concept of creating a souvenir, I took the history of the synagogue and literally built it up and destroyed it again and again. I used three different coloured clay types to make a visual difference of what was smashed with my feet first. The fourth time building the synagogue up, I combined all three clay types to make one universal “brick”, to note that the current building is built by the bricks of the past. Just what 
Sarah told me, when the third version of the temple got destroyed, a wall was still standing with the arch, where now it’s been kept as is in the current state of the temple.